Windows 7 or 8?

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Arnox

UT99/2004 Mod Crazy
Mar 26, 2009
1,601
5
38
Beyond
Good day, gentle people of OT.

ATM, I am looking at replacing my crappy laptop and I already have a shiny new one on newegg in my sights. You can view it here.

As you can see, they offer a choice between Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8. Now, at first I was going to go with Windows 7 hands down, but after hearing that Windows 8 is pretty much Windows 7 in different clothes, should I just give in and move on to Windows 8? Or, since I have a choice in the matter, go with Windows 7 because that's what I'm used to and don't have any problem with?
 
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Selerox

COR AD COR LOQVITVR
Nov 12, 1999
6,584
37
48
44
TheUKofGBandNI
selerox.deviantart.com
7 > 8

I don't know a single person who willing uses Windows 8. It's a not very much improved Windows 7 with a horrific GUI strapped onto it.

The general consensus is that if you have Windows 7 there is no good reason to upgrade to Windows 8.
 

Arnox

UT99/2004 Mod Crazy
Mar 26, 2009
1,601
5
38
Beyond
It's a not very much improved Windows 7 with a horrific GUI strapped onto it.

What I want to know is what bright boy(s) at Microsoft thought that putting a bunch of random colored, random size squares made in MS Paint jumbled all together in a mess and calling it an interface would be a great idea.

We went from having this useful, organized, unobtrusive menu,

68440e10.jpg


into this.

start_10.png


Now, to be fair, 8's menu has some more flexibility on what can be put and displayed on it. But besides that, it is such a PoS, I'm surprised it even made it out of the Microsoft labs.
 

Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
10,065
218
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somewhere; sometime?
I personally use 7.

but at work, most of the computers use 8 with their touch-screen functionality.
while it's nothing amazing, it works surprisingly well and I've really had nothing to complain about... so far.
 

Luv_Studd

Member
Aug 17, 1999
822
6
18
57
VT
Visit site
My hope PC has Windows 8, but I don't have touchscreen monitor. I also keep the desktop set up looking like <Windows 7. I think the Win 8 functionality is not quite there yet as well, as some apps don't work very well.

At work we still use XP, lol, but will be upgrading to Win 7 this year.
 

Hellkeeper

Soulless Automaton
Feb 16, 2014
146
4
18
France
hellkeeper.net
Everyone I know hates windows 8, and I'm not talking about power users who dislike it for philosophical reasons. Even my mum hates it, and she doesn't hate anything.

Personnally, I'm running the same Vista since 2007 :p
 

nawrot

New Member
Jan 23, 2008
89
0
0
Use only every other system from M$.

i used mix of win 95 and win98, skipped winme, installed win2000 and winxp,
then skipped vista, now i am on win7 skipping win8
 

Zur

surrealistic mad cow
Jul 8, 2002
11,708
8
38
48
Go for Windows 7. It's a souped-up mix between vista and xp. Win8 is too messy and confusing.
 

Arcturus

Not From Bloody Starcraft
Jan 23, 2000
1,506
17
38
38
Totally Not Korhal IV
I don't know a single person who willing uses Windows 8. It's a not very much improved Windows 7 with a horrific GUI strapped onto it.

The general consensus is that if you have Windows 7 there is no good reason to upgrade to Windows 8.
I use Windows 8 and am fine with it, although it came pre-installed on my new box.

Not that you're wrong though, the metro UI is fucking horrible. I got Start8 though which puts back the start menu with appropriate theming, and its fine. The only other thing was that some of the metro apps come up as default filetype programs (for playing mp3s and viewing pics, etc) but you just install your usual stuff instead and its fine. There are certain weird UI elements that are still metro-ey, like the wi-fi connect dialog is a weird sidebar thing, but other than that its ok.
 

Hunter

BeyondUnreal Newsie
Aug 20, 2001
7,417
61
48
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...Behind You...
www.unrealfans.com
I'm on windows 8 and I'm fine with it.

The start menu is horrid for a normal PC, great for a tablet.

When the options to start in desktop mode appear then it'll just be a funky start menu that won't really get used.

Once you know your hot corners though it doesn't get in the way to much.
 

SkaarjMaster

enemy of time
Sep 1, 2000
4,870
8
38
Sarasota, FL
Win8 came installed on my new Asus ROG laptop, so I decided to try it for a bit. I upgraded it to 8.1 and am rolling with it. I kind of know where everything is now and, yes, the GUI blows, but I'm getting used to it...sort of. I may eventually apply the classic Win7 interface file, but not right now. I'm still installing and configuring my programs when I have time, but no game will be installed for probably another couple of weeks. Besides, my main computer (WinXP-desktop) is still running and has a bunch of games installed, so no big deal. I just needed something to take on the road for work (and to use if my 5-year old desktop crashes).
 

rejecht

Attention Micronians
Jun 15, 2009
511
0
16
.no
sites.google.com
The Windows 8 UI was made with touchy phones in mind.

From the product page:
* Windows 7 comes pre-installed.
* You get the media to install Windows 8 Pro 64-bit.
If you install Windows 8, you can call HP to get the recovery media for Windows 7, as it probably won't come with the PC.
Maybe you can create the recovery discs yourself after installing Windows 7.

Windows 8 Pro
* new technology platform (core changes, security features)
* does not come with DVD playback support
* somewhat faster boot time
* basically the same Windows 7 desktop
* Windows + X brings up a menu of most things you'll ever need to manage the PC
* Control Panel is the same
* The task bar has pretty much replaced the purpose of the start menu; you pin applications to it as you do in Windows 7.
* Most annoyances can be disabled
* Windows 8.1 has the option to bring up the desktop upon login
* I'm using 7 at home, but 8 at work. Not in a hurry to go 8.

Windows 7 Professional
* supported by Microsoft till 2020+ before it meets the same fate as Windows XP does in April.
* broader support for older hardware, but most drivers that work in 7 may share the same architecture in Windows 8.
 

DarkED

The Great Oppression
Mar 19, 2006
3,113
17
38
38
Right behind you.
www.nodanites.com
For the price, that is a very meh laptop. Try the $599 to $999 section on Power Notebooks.

Here's a slightly cheaper laptop that comes with a Haswell i7 and 8GB of RAM out of the box. For just ~$750 you can get this laptop with a Haswell i7, 8GB of RAM, 17.3" 1600x900 LED-backlit display, and nVidia Geforce GT 740M.

I ran Windows 8 Pro for about three months. The 8.1 upgrade failed spectacularly and killed the install, and I wasn't crazy about 8 anyways, so I went back to Windows 7. Smooth sailing ever since.

Windows 8 is probably great if you have a tablet, but if you're planning on using a keyboard and mouse it's really quite annoying. I installed Classic Shell which brings back the start menu and boots (almost) directly to desktop, but it's just not the same. Windows 7 is still the best Windows release so far IMHO.

Windows 8 Pro
* new technology platform (core changes, security features)

No. Windows 8 uses essentially the same core and security setup as Windows 7 does. Windows 8 has been tuned for better performance on SSDs vs. Windows 7, but that is really the only noticeable change. Both are still receiving security updates so both are more or less secure as the other. Windows 8 supports more or less the same legacy hardware and applications as Windows 7 does (not much.)

Barring that, there is always virtualization.

* somewhat faster boot time

Only if you have an SSD. Otherwise, it often takes longer to boot. Windows 7 Ultimate boots to desktop at least five seconds faster than 8 Pro did on my conventional drive. It also took about a full second for Classic Shell to kill Metro and switch to Desktop mode.

* basically the same Windows 7 desktop

Sure. Minus Start Menu, which for some people including me, makes it essentially useless. And no, 8.1's Start screen is not a proper replacement.

* Windows + X brings up a menu of most things you'll ever need to manage the PC

Kinda like Control Panel has for the last 10 years?

* Most annoyances can be disabled

Except for the biggest one - Metro. Luckily, Classic Shell and other third-party apps can disable Metro and bring back the proper start menu.

* Windows 8.1 has the option to bring up the desktop upon login

So does Windows 7. In fact, it's the default setting ;)

Windows 7 Professional
* broader support for older hardware, but most drivers that work in 7 may share the same architecture in Windows 8.

Windows Vista, 7, and 8 use the same driver model - WDM. Windows Vista/7 drivers are 100% compatible with Windows 8, and vice-verse. Some driver installers do an OS version check but the drivers can still be installed manually.

Windows 2000/XP drivers run on an entirely different model and are not compatible, same as Win 9x drivers were to Win 2000/XP.
 
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